Free Sword Art Online - Volume 1 - Aincrad by Reki Kawahara

set, and the final rays of light lit the streets a dark purple.
    Most of the sixty-first floor is taken up by a lake and Salemburg was located on an island in the middle of it, so one could see the setting sun reflected on it like a picture on a canvas.
    I gazed at the city in awe, my breath taken away by its beauty as it shined blue and red with the vast lake behind it. Not that it would be that hard for the NERvGear to create lighting effects like this with CPUs of the new generation and their diamond semiconductors.
    The teleport gate was placed in the plaza in front of the castle and the main street, which headed north, going through the city while being surrounded by street lamps. The stores and houses stood orderly on either side of the street, and even the NPCs that were walking around looked well dressed somehow. I spread my arms and breathed deeply, as even the taste of the air differed from Algate.
    “ Hmmm. It ’ s large and has few people. I like how it feels so spacious. ”  
    “ Then why don ’ t you move? ”  
    “ I don ’ t have anywhere near enough money, ” I answered with a shrug, before fixing my expression and asking hesitatingly.
    “… more than that, is it really okay? Back there …”  
    “…”
    As if she realized what I was trying to say, Asuna twirled around with her head bowed down and tapped the floor with the tip of her boot.
    “… it ’ s true that some bad things happened a couple of times when I was alone. But to assign bodyguards to me, it’s going a bit too far, right? I said I didn ’ t need them but … the members said that it ’ s guild policy. ”  
    She continued in a subdued voice.
    “ In the past, the guild was small with the leader inviting people individually by talking with them. But as the number of members grew and started changing … Then when it started being called the greatest guild or so, something became a bit strange. ”  
    She stopped talking and turned around slightly. Something in her eyes seemed like she wanted to rely on me and I subconsciously stopped breathing.
    I had to say something. I thought that, but what could a selfish solo player like me say? I simply watched in silence for a few seconds.
    Asuna turned her gaze first. She watched the lake, bathed in soft light, and said, as if to get rid of the awkwardness.
    “ Well, it ’ s nothing much so you don ’ t have to worry! If we don ’ t go quickly, the sun is going to set. ”  
    Asuna set off first and I followed suit. We passed by quite a lot of players but none of them stared at her.
    I only stayed here for a couple of days when the front line had been here, so I never really looked around properly. As I looked at the delicate carvings that adorned the city, the thought that living in a city like this for a while wouldn ’ t be too bad came unbidden to my mind. But then I changed my mind and decided that it would be better if I only came here once in a while to sightsee.
    The house where Asuna lived was a small but pretty three floored maisonette which you could get to by walking eastward from the downtown area for a few minutes. It was, of course, the first time that I had come here. Now that I thought about it, I ’ d only talked to this girl during boss fight conferences; and we ’ d never even been to an NPC restaurant together before. As I became conscious of this, I stopped in front of the doorway, suddenly tense, and asked.
    “ Is it … alright? Y ’ know …”  
    “ What? It ’ s something I suggested first, and there wasn ’ t anywhere that was fit for cooking so we don ’ t have a choice! ”  
    Asuna turned her head and bounced up the stairs. I steeled my resolve and followed her.
    “ E-Excuse me. ”  
    I hesitantly opened the door then stood there, speechless.
    I ’ d never seen a home so well-ordered before. The wide living/dining room and the kitchen adjacent to it had furniture made out of light-colored wood, and was decorated with moss green